Griffin
Not to be confused with Dr. Griffin, the human protagonist from H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. Griffins (a.k.a. Gryphons) are mythological creatures known in ancient Egypt, Persia, Mesopotamian civilizations and throughout Europe, India and Central Asia. They're represented as having the body and hindlegs of a lion, and the head, wings and forelegs of a huge eagle - giving it six limbs in total. Despite having the head of an eagle, they're very commonly depicted with long ears. Like dragons, they're considered intelligent creatures and are often guardians of gold and other treasures. In some cases, Griffins portrayed without wings will be referred to as male Griffins (implying a kind of sexual dimorphism in which only the females have wings), also known as Keythongs or Alces. There's also a specific type of Griffin known as the Opinicus, which has the forelegs of a lion rather than an eagle, and a tail like that of a camel rather than a lion. According to Medieval legends, the Griffins are strictly monogamous, and will remain alone rather than trying to find a new mate if their mate dies. They're said to be oviparous, and their claws and feathers have medicinal properties, with some sources claiming that the feathers can cure blindness. The natural enmity between horses and Griffins is also well documented, although in extremely rare occasions the two may procreate, giving rise to a hybrid known as a Hippogriff. In Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy, Wayne Barlowe depicts the Griffins as winged, long-tailed mutant relatives of the Protoceratops. This refers to the popular theory that the Griffin legends may have been inspired by Protoceratops fossils. Curiously, it's now commonly believed that at least some ceratopsian dinosaurs had feathers, making their appearance far more Griffin-like than previously thought. Appearances in Media Literature *''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', by Lewis Carroll *"The Griffin", a story collected in Grimm's Fairy Tales, by the Brothers Grimm Films *''Attack of the Gryphon'' *''Fantasia 2000'' *''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' *''Quest for Camelot'' *''Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra Doo'' Television *''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' *''Aladdin'' (animated TV series) *''Garfield and Friends'' *''My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' *''The Smurfs'' *''Sofia the First'' *''The StoryTeller'' Video Games *''Dark Parables'' *''Disco Zoo'' *''Dragon's Dogma'' *''Final Fantasy'' series *''God of War'' series *''Might and Magic'' series *''The Witcher'' series *''World of Warcraft'' Gallery Gryphon.png|Gryphon from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Griffin-WayneBarlowe.jpg|Griffin from Barlowe's Guide to Fantasy Griffin (Dark Parables).jpg|Griffin from Dark Parables Griffin-AdventuresOfTheGummiBears.jpg|''Adventures of the Gummi Bears'' Griffin-Aladdin.jpg|''Aladdin'' Gryphon Disco Zoo.png|''Disco Zoo'' Griffin FFVII.png|''Final Fantasy VII'' Griffin-GarfieldAndFriends.jpg|''Garfield and Friends'' Griffin (H1).gif|''Heroes of Might and Magic I: A Strategic Quest'' Griffin (H2).png|''Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars'' Griffin (H3).gif|''Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia'' Griffin-QuestForCamelot.jpg|''Quest for Camelot'' Griffin-SofiaTheFirst.jpg|''Sofia the First'' Griffin-TheGoldenVoyageOfSinbad.jpg|''The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'' Griffin-TheSmurfs.jpg|''The Smurfs'' Griffin-TheStoryteller.jpg|''The StoryTeller'' Griffin Troop.png|''The Troop'' Gryphon WoW.png|''World of Warcraft'' Fantasia2000.jpg|Unicorn, Dragon and Griffin from Fantasia 2000. See also *Griffin (The Witcher) Category:Legendary Creatures Category:African Creatures Category:Eurasian Creatures Category:Sentient Beings Category:Non-sapient Beings Category:Chimera Category:Fauna Category:Flying Creatures Category:Carnivores Category:Oviparous Creatures Category:Unknown Aggressivity Category:Literary Creatures Category:Movie Creatures Category:TV Show Creatures Category:Video Game Creatures Category:Animated Creatures Category:Adventures of the Gummi Bears Universe Category:Aladdin Universe Category:Alice in Wonderland Universe Category:ARK Universe Category:Dark Parables Universe Category:Disney Universes Category:Dragon's Dogma Universe Category:Dungeons & Dragons Universe Category:Family Guy Universe Category:Fantasia Universe Category:Final Fantasy Universe Category:Garfield Universe Category:God of War Universe Category:Gravity Falls Universe Category:Harry Potter Universe Category:Might and Magic Universe Category:My Little Pony Universe Category:Quest for Camelot Universe Category:Scooby-Doo Universe Category:Sinbad Universe Category:The Smurfs Universe Category:Sofia the First Universe Category:Syfy Channel Universe Category:World of WarCraft Universe